The Battle of Saltillo (October 25, 1840) was fought between insurgents under the command of Colonel

Samuel Jordan Samuel Jordan (died 1623) was an early settler and ancient planter of colonial Jamestown. He arrived in Virginia around 1610, and served as a Burgess in the first representative legislative session in North America. Jordan patented a plantat ...

fighting for the

Republic of the Rio Grande The Republic of the Rio Grande ( es, República del Río Grande) was an independent nation that insurgents fighting against the Centralist Republic of Mexico sought to establish in northern Mexico. The Republic of the Rio Grande was one of a se ...

and the Centralists under the command of General Ráfael Vásquez fighting for the

First Mexican Republic The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic ( es, Primera República Federal, link=no), was a Federal republic, federated republic, under the Constitution of 1824. It was a nation-state officially designated the United M ...

. The result was a victory for the Centralists.

Prelude

General Antonio Canales and the remaining insurgents that survived the

Battle of Morales The Battle of Morales was fought on 2 June 1813. It was a cavalry skirmish between the Duke of Wellington's vanguard and the rear guard of the French army. It occurred near the village of Morales which is in the vicinity of Toro, Zamora in Spa ...

(25 March) sought refuge in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas. While official recognition from the Republic of Texas was not obtained, General Canales' tour was met with some success. On the 1 June he arrived in San Patricio, where the rebellion forces had been reorganising. In addition to 300 volunteers, the army had grown to include 140 Texan and 80 Native American volunteers. The Texan volunteers were led by Colonel Samuel Jordan.

Battle

General Canales sent Colonel Jordan and approximately 90 Texan volunteers south into disputed territory in late June; they crossed the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, and took

Ciudad Victoria Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to ...

, the capital of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, without any resistance. A few of those who were guiding Jordan were still loyal to the Central government of Mexico and were trying to lead the Texans towards

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

, where a Mexican ambush awaited. Jordan suspected such and diverted his troops to

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

, where, on the 25 October he was attacked by Mexican General Ráfael Vásquez. Some of Jordan's soldiers deserted and he was heavily outnumbered, but he was able to defend himself and return to Texas.

Aftermath

Soon after this defeat Canales capitulated to the Centralists.

Notes

References

* * * 1840 in Mexico

Saltillo History of Coahuila Republic of the Rio Grande {{battle-stub